Horace Newcombe, Television: The Critical View, 6th edition, Oxford University Press 2000
Janet Murray, Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace, MIT Press, 1998
Harbinger Text Suggestions (copies available in IDT lab)
Run Lola Run
Groundhog Day
Sliding Doors
Recommended Reading
Danny Schecter: The More You Watch, the Less You Know
- Prepared attendence, active participation, and all weekly assignments handed in on time (Points deducted if any of these are lacking)
- Quality of weekly assignments (20%)
- Class participation (15%)
- Short Projects, at least one of which must be individual (3 x 15% each = 45%)
- Final Project, which can be a substantial expansion and redraft of a short project. If done as a group, individual contributions must be clearly credited. (20%)
- Extra Credit: points given up to maximum of 10 points for extra assignments, helpfulness to other students, outstanding contributions to discussion or to web resources, or other activity to be determined at discretion of the instructor. Extra credit may be given to groups or to individuals.
All class projects must be accessible on line, and posted by 5pm on the Sunday before the due date. Students are expected to review one another's work before class, and to come to class prepared and alert enough (i.e. with sufficient sleep the night before!) to play an active role in design discussions.
Project Critique and Extra Meeting Times
In order to provide all students and groups of students with enough time to present and receive helpful feedback on their designs in progress we may have to extend the hours of some of our class meetings. So on days when projects are due (Sept 11, October 16, November 13) please try to leave 4-7 pm free. We will discuss in class how to handle these meetings. One possibility is a break at 4pm followed by pizza and more critique from 5-7pm. For the final project, please reserve the regular class meeting time during finals week so that we can have enough time to discuss final projects. See me if you have conflicts over these times and dates.
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week of |
Topic |
Readings/assignment |
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1
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Aug 21 |
What is a computer? what is television?: what is broadband? Outline of course approach: fiction/entertainment and nonfiction/news formats |
View Prototype Tapes and DVDs during and after class
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2
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Aug 28 |
Harbingers: Multisequential and Multiform Stories
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Murray, Chapter 2: Harbingers Your choice of harbinger text How does this text illustrate the concept of harbingers as outlined in Chapter 2 of HoH. Answer this question with short paper or electronic artifact. |
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3
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Sept 4 Labor Day |
No Class: Holiday
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Holiday week: prepare project 1 which is due next week Also start doing the reading for week 5! |
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4
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Sept 11 |
Project 1: Harbingers |
Hand in project 1: Remediate an existing harbinger text by translating it into electronic format (mockup or mini-prototype only) |
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5
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Sept 18 |
TV as a medium of representation: Genres and Conventions |
Read from Newcomb at least 3 of the following: D'Acci on Cagney and Lacey and femininity Barker on sit com production conventions TImberg on the "unspoken rules" of television talk (e.g. David Letterman) Skovmand on Wheel of Fortune game shows Gittlin on Prime Time Ideologies Thorburn on Melodrama McGrath on Long Form TV as the new novel Kellner on Bevis and Butthead Then: Make a mock up of a tv-show generating machine for a particular TV genre: what are the elements you would abstract in order to create a show in the genre you have chosen? what are the pluses of this predictability? what are the minuses? to what extent are these genres culturally based? (Suggestion: include both American and non-American responses to your chosen genre, drawing on team members or friends --- or you might invite a first-year non-American IDT student to share watch TV with you and share responses.) |
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6
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Sept 25 |
The computer as a medium of representation:
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Murray, HoH 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 Be sure you can define and discuss the following according to HoH (there may be a quiz): 4 properties of digital media What made Eliza come alive? Was it the visual interface? What are the 3 key components of "interactivity" (2 properties and one pleasure) Hyperserial |
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7
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Oct 2 |
Convergence Model for Fictional Worlds: Immersion and Agency in a make believe world |
Review Murray HoH 4, 5 In Newcomb: Jenkins: Star Trek fans and "Textual Poaching" Article: Jenkins and Murray on Star Trek games (handout) Example: Star Gate web simulcast |
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8
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Oct 9 Yom Kippur |
No class: Jewish Holiday Week off: prepare Project 2 which is due next week See me on other days of the week for appointments to discuss design of Project 2, as needed |
Review Murray HoH 6, 9 Begin working on Project 2 Enhanced TV Prototyping: Project 2 Assignment: Start with an existing TV genre and with particular TV content. Make a prototype of an immersive world that gives viewers the opportunity to engage in the active creation of belief as an expansion of this program. You can use content from current AFI Extended TV workshop participants. (Janet will explain.) Or you can use other content. |
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9
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Oct 16 |
Project 2 "Enhanced TV" Prototyping |
Hand in Project 2 (we may need extra meeting time this week to cover all projects) |
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10
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Oct 23 <Mon/Tues holiday> |
(no class: holiday) |
Grace Period: can be used to hand in revised Project 2 or to start work on Project 3. Make your choice based on which one is most likely to serve as the basis of your final project. |
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11
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Oct 30 |
News: U.S. Election
Coverage
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Read Dayan and Katz on "defining media events" in TV event coverage (in Newcomb) Then, using D&K's description of a "media event" Pick an unfolding "media event" during this week related to the US election (or think of the election process as a whole as a single defining event lasting over a long period of time). Follow coverage of this event across a spectrum of linked media venues (e.g. NBC, MSNBC on cable and on the web; or NY Times print, NYT on the web, linked video on web). What difference does the web make to the shape, content, and experience of this particular event as a "media event". Make a web page illustrating the ways in which event coverage in these several media exemplifies D&K's analysis. How would convergence change these patterns?
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12
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Nov 6 |
(Day before election): News Coverage |
Continue to follow the election and add to web project from previous week, revising it based on class critique |
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13
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Nov 13 |
Project 3 News Coverage Project DUE! |
Project 3 DUE: Drawing on previous two weeks work, create a project that does one of the following: * critiques media coverage of the election * serves as an information design prototype of broadband coverage of an election * serves as a utopian/dystopian vision of broadband converage of an election
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14
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Nov 20
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Final Project Mockup due |
Your final project should be a revision and expansion of one of your earlier projects. If your earlier projects were done as a group, the final project can be pursued by the whole group or only by individual members. It can be pursued in different directions by individuals, or as a coordinated effort. It is most important that the final project have a clear, ambitious individual component, and that it be a significant advancement over earlier work. Students should make appointments with instructor to discuss their projects and get approval in advance of the scope and approach.
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15
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Nov 27 |
Final project Draft due |
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16
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Dec 4 | Final version of Final Project due | |
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Finals Week
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Dec 11 | Hold for extra meeting for critique of projects |